AT&T to add cell tower near Loop 250

Published 3:32 pm, Monday, January 31, 2011

Avid iPhone users should find they have fewer dropped calls in the coming months if a proposed cell phone tower is approved by the City Council.

The request received the first necessary approval on Monday during the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. If eventually granted, it would mean the addition of a 144-foot tower near West Loop 250 North and Tremont Avenue. The City Council should consider the proposal during both of its February meetings.

Mike O'Neal, senior director of sales for Abilene-based Vangard Wireless, said because of the growing density of people in the north Midland area, cell phone service often has been less than stellar.

"This area is almost like a sponge in that customers at those spots can't use cell phones," he said, referring to businesses along Loop 250 near Wadley Avenue.

Jim Compton, senior planner for the city, said the tower will have fencing to screen it but that it should be isolated enough to not require extensive landscaping.

The tower would have space for four providers but at this point would only carry signals for AT&T, O'Neal said. He said AT&T would use the tower to provide 4G service and eventually for its LTE service, which will be the next technology available.

With a car dealership, hotel, shopping centers and Midland Park Mall nearby, O'Neal said the growing number of people necessitated the addition of the tower.

"This should greatly facilitate that area," he said.

Board member Kevin Wilton said while he supported the tower, he wondered if the city had parameters in place to limit the number of towers that can go in for the future.

"At what point are they harder to get?" he said.

Compton said at this point the city doesn't have guidelines for limiting cell phone towers. It also doesn't have minimum spacing requirements between towers.

"It's really just a judgment of the community," he said.

O'Neal said digital service has meant cell phone towers have to be built closer together to provide service than was the case in previous years.

Compton added that Sprint also has put in a request for a cell phone tower in the area and the city will inquire as to whether it could use space on the one being proposed by Vangard Wireless instead of building another one.

If given final approval, O'Neal said they could have the tower up in six to nine months.

In other business, commissioners unanimously approved a request by Glenda Kelly for a zone change that would allow for the construction of a Crossfit Gym.

Compton said the fitness center would span 17,880 square feet, including its outdoor workout space.

If approved by the City Council, Compton said the facility would go up near Midland Drive and Briarwood Avenue. It would be located just behind the bank, convenience store and shopping center already constructed at the northwest corner of the intersection.

At its height, the building would span 20 feet and at its lowest point reach 15 feet.

Compton said the 20 foot height request is two feet over the city's limit for that area. However, he said, because the portion of the building that faces the neighborhood would be 15 feet, city staff had no objection to the exception requested.

Kelly said the center would be open to those who join the gym and that the space will be used to facilitate Crossfit's unique program. She said trainers typically take groups of five to 20 through a workout rather than setting up a space for members to work out on their own like at other facilities.

The business has been in existence in a private facility in the same area for about two years and simply needed more space to accommodate its growing membership, Kelly said.

Wanting to ensure none of the issues that came up with Fit Family Fitness' construction on Midland Drive occurred again, Gatten asked if air conditioners would be prohibited from being added atop the building.

Compton assured commissioners they would.

Lone Star also was given unanimous approval to add a conference room to its facility near Loop 250 West and Wall Street. The business has been in operation there since 1984 and simply wanted to expand.